The Best Films of the 2000s and more.
Posts tagged Drama
Tokyo Sonata (2008)
Aug 29th
Starring: Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyôko Koizumi, Yû Koyanagi
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Country: Japan
Genre: Foreign, Drama
If there’s one thing that can’t be said about a Kiyoshi Kurosawa film, it’s that it’s predictable. He put together a number of unforgettable horror films, most notably the truly chilling and bizarre Pulse, and here he applies his unique storytelling sensibilities to use in a family drama. One may expect more conventional methods of storytelling in a more traditional realm of characters… one would be wrong to expect as much.
The Sasaki family is a rather typical family, functioning at levels to sustain everyday living with one another. But the each member of the family tends to keep aspects of their lives secret from one another: the father loses his job, one son joins the army, another starts up piano lessons, and the mother is the victim of a robbery and develops a quick case of Stockholm Syndrome.
This film is a slow disintegration of the family unit. It’s a great commentary on how when family communication fails, everyone becomes self-involved. While most families might not suffer quite the same consequences as the Sasaki’s, it’s nonetheless gripping entertainment. There’s a lesson to be learned somewhere in the extremities this film finds itself. Perhaps it’s the importance of family, perhaps it’s that no matter how alone or distant we feel there’s always someone we can fall back on, perhaps it’s simply ‘don’t lie.’ Whatever it is, it resonates.
The Maid (2009)
Aug 22nd
Starring: Catalina Saavedra, Claudia Celedón, Mariana Loyola
Director: Sebastián Silva
Country: Chile, Mexico
Genre: Foreign, Drama, Comedy
The Maid is a film about the struggles between different social classes, about the vague lines that are sometimes drawn working relationships, and a great look at humanity. These issues are ever present in everyday life whether its a relationship with the local coffee shop employee or the live-in maid that cleans your house and knows all of your secrets.
Raquel has been working for the same family for over twenty years. She’s watched the kids grow up, hell, it could be argued that she raised them. She’s spent the better part of her life developing a routine, and in her mind, and to some truth, a bond with the family that employs her. But a strain starts to show on the relationship as tensions start to rise between Raquel and the eldest daughter, which leads the family to hire extra help. Jealousy overtakes Raquel who has a tendency to act out, usually locking the new maids out of the house.
This is one of the best character studies of the last decade. It’s sharply written and relentless in its examination of its subject. So often in films like this the filmmakers would be prone to show the self-destruction of a character, but Silva seems to know better keeping the film light and surprising. Perhaps the greatest thing about the film is Saavedra’s performance as Raquel. It’s absolutely fearless and penetrating. As an actress that has been around for nearly two decades, it’s impossible to think she’s spent her time anywhere else but working as a maid. With a biting commentary on working relationships and the concept of family, The Maid is a great film.
Mother (2009)
Aug 21st
Starring: Hye-ja Kim, Bin Won, Ku Jin
Director: Joon-ho Bong
Country: South Korea
Genre: Foreign, Thriller
Joon-ho Bong has quickly become one of the most promising international directors around. In 2003 he made his presence known with a tour de force called Memories of Murder. In 2006 his brilliant take on the all-but-forgotten ‘monster’ genre manifested itself in the form of The Host. And here, returning to the mystery/thriller genre he creates his masterpiece, (surely the first of many,) with Mother.
Do-joon and his mother have a unique bond that extends well beyond her overprotective reach. She attempts to look out for him, but as he’s growing into adulthood (slowly, I might add, due to a mental handicap,) he seems to push her away. But when he’s arrested for the murder of a girl, his mother will ‘stop at nothing’ to prove his innocence – even if he can’t remember the details.
There are so many things that go into making this film great. Naturally part of it is Bong’s visual style and ability to tell a compelling stories through the eyes of intriguing characters. But no amount of praise can overstate the magnificence of Hye-ja Kim’s performance as ‘mother’. Without her raw and natural talent to wear her emotions on her face, (and trust me, they get complex,) Mother could not have been made, at least not in the capacity in which it stands. This is one of those special films that only come around once every ten years or so.
The Kids Are All Right (2010)
Aug 17th
Starring: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo
Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Country: USA
Genre: Comedy, Drama
There have been a lot of strides made in incorporating gay culture into mainstream cinema over the last decade. Films like Milk and Brokeback Mountain have dealt with the issue head-on, but The Kids Are All Right tends to take a different direction. As brilliant as the aforementioned films might be, they still depict homosexuality as outside the norm. This film might be the first to depict homosexuality within the context of a working family unit.
This film is about bigger issues than the fact that it centers around a lesbian couple. In fact, Cholodenko seems adamant about getting the distracting stuff out of the way quickly, (Moore and Bening kissing, calling each other honey, holding hands,) out of the way early so that it doesn’t hinder the material being presented. Cholodenko and co-writer Stuart Blumberg have a message larger than the “we’re gay and we’re here to stay” motto. Instead they seem to want to show that gay or straight, it’s damn hard to keep a working family unit.
Bening and Moore are absolutely winning in their respective roles. Both have had their ups and downs this decade, but in this film they simultaneously show why they’ve been household names for so long. Ruffalo also puts in another compelling performance that will hopefully garner the attention he finally deserves.
Appropriately named after the famous glam-rocking gender-bender David Bowie’s song, The Kids Are All Right is a wonderful depiction of the New American Family.
Top 10 Directorial Debuts of the 2000s
Aug 15th
There’s nothing more exciting than the potential of a fresh and exhilarating new director. Great talent usually takes many features to develop, but these directors stand out as crafting some of the most impacting, memorable, and extraordinary first-time feature length films. Some of these filmmakers we’ve already seen establish themselves into well respected and acclaimed directors, and others have yet to show us their next work.
This list is accumulated chronologically by the first feature length film helmed by the following directors, (it’s not by official theatrical release, which is why directors like Christopher Nolan and Edgar Wright aren’t on here.) The list will also be updated regularly, as these things are always in a constant state of changing.
David Gordon Green – George Washington (2000)
Over the last decade, David Gordon Green has shown an uncanny ability to paint an indescribable tone stemming from the confines of small towns. Sometimes nostalgic, sometimes tense, sometimes sweltering, sometimes sweet, Green’s ability to capture that je ne sais quoi is unparalleled, and it all started with the quiet storm that is George Washington.
The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
Aug 9th
Starring: Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago
Director: Juan José Campanella
Country: Argentina
Genre: Foreign, Mystery
Best Foreign Language Film – Academy Awards
This Argentinian film certainly knows its way around a script. Eduardo Sacheri adapts his own novel for the screen (with the help of director Campanella,) which follows an attorney haunted by the one unsolved case of his career. It’s told in two perspectives: in present day the retired attorney revisits the case to scrounge up material to turn it into a novel, and the same attorney twenty-five years in the past as he first takes on the case.
What’s refreshing about this mystery is that it doesn’t try to manipulate the audience. The flow of the story is entirely natural, the suspense isn’t artificially generated – particularly the ending which avoids the pitfall of ‘shock and awe’ that so many mysteries fall into. It’s an inherent conclusion that provides fulfillment and satisfaction because it’s innate. Sacheri’s ability to develop three-dimensional characters is quite profound. Every character is not without his or her flaws and strengths, culminating in a group of people that’s impossible not to care about.
Campanella’s technical prowess shapes this film into kind of brilliant. For the most part, his cinematography is imbued with a sense of reality (albeit slightly romanticized,) developing an atmosphere that is at once nostalgic and immediate. Only once does Campanella really boast his talents with an insanely complex long-take that encompasses an entire chase scene. But for the most part he uses his talents for good, creating a funny, touching, surprising and romantic story of closure.
Devils on the Doorstep (2000)
Aug 7th
Starring: Jiang Wen, Teruyuki Kagawa, Yuan Ding
Director: Jiang Wen
Country: China
Genre: Foreign, Drama
“… a film that once you see it, it makes all other films feel small.”
- Steven Soderbergh
This WWII film from writer, director, and star Jiang Wen is positively one of the most disarming and disquieting films of the last decade. Shot in luscious black and white, it makes it indistinguishable from cinema from the post-war era. And like those films, it tells an unconventional story of bystanders forced to deal with the consequences of war. In Japanese Occupied China, a village man (Wen) is bombarded by a stranger who drops off two Japanese prisoners and is told to keep them alive otherwise it would mean his life. The problem being with the Japanese Forces in the area, if he gets caught with the prisoners it would also mean his life.
The first two-thirds of Devils on the Doorstep is a beguiling comedy. Humor is derived from every situation and the eclectic roster of characters keep the film lively. It’s in the last third that the film takes a sharp turn and lifts the veil on its intentions. To call the conclusion of this film ‘shocking’ would be wholly underselling it, but to speak about it is to spoil it. Wen’s direction is about as perfect as it can be. His compositions are intriguing, the script is tight and clever, and the cast is spot on. It’s no easy task to direct and act without sacrificing a sense of vision, but Wen is the end all example of how it’s done.
Devils on the Doorstep isn’t an easy film, and should not be watched on a whim. It demands unrequited attention (though it’s not hard to give.) However those who seek it out are sure to have an overwhelming experience.
